Comment of the Week

"You writers at Curbed better hope that the Friends of the Parking Lots (FOTPL) don't succeed. This group and other NIMBYs find a way to oppose every single project proposed for Chicago. I haven't seen any project where there wasn't someone complaining about the prospect of displaced termites. If this group and their supporters have their way, the only significant developments you'll find yourself writing about won't be in Chicago."

"The FOTPL must be stopped because they don't have the best interest of Chicago at heart. This is more than hyperbole. The Lucas Museum is being funded entirely by Mr. Lucas as will the operating costs. The proposed site for the Lucas Museum is an asphalt parking lot--that's the reality, it's not a park unless you have gasoline in your veins instead of blood. The Obama Presidential Library is proposed on 20 acres of the perimeter of Washington Park which is comprised of more than 366 acres (hardly a significant footprint in an enormous park). Washington Park is located on the South Side where the museum at the proposed site enjoys overwhelming support from South-Siders. Both projects will provide a considerable number of construction and permanent jobs. Both will be tourist attractions bringing in much needed revenue from outside the city and state. Hotels, restaurants, taxi companies, educational institutions in addition to many other industries serve to benefit from establishing these institutions in Chicago. Again, one project transforms an asphalt parking lot to a museum. The other project has the distinction of being the library for the first African American President, built in the neighborhood where President Obama began his career in community service. The presidential library will have a tiny footprint in an enormous park. We mustn't allow a small minority more concerned with preserving a place for a few ducks to go and pee, than creating economic opportunities for Chicagoans, and expanding cultural and educational opportunities for the masses." commenter Peck, "Lucas and Obama Library Drama Rattles Anxious Chicagoans"